How Attorneys Can Make Their Web Videos Count

If you’re already hosting your videos online and you’re not getting the results you expected, then you might need to adjust your strategy. Online marketing isn’t always intuitive and there are some common mistakes made by law firms. And if you’re just starting the process of shooting them, then be sure to incorporate the tips below into your planning.

Your videos shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. Yes, they’re useful tools, but they’re most effective in concert with other marketing campaigns. Work to time the release of your videos with your other marketing efforts—for example, radio advertisements or print advertisements. You should also consider about whether some of your printed materials should reference them.

Don’t fall into the trap of making your videos too direct. Unless they’re incredibly funny, potential clients don’t go online to view advertisements; they go online for information about their legal problems. Instead of giving them a hard sell through your video, why not give a taste of the kind of advice you’ll provide when you represent them? They’ll be pleased, and will at a minimum think well of your firm—if not hire you straight away.

Publicize your new videos. At a minimum, send emails to your target list and to your media contacts when you upload new videos. Better yet, work with other websites and blogs to try and get them to link to—or even host—them as well. The more points of entry you provide for your videos, the more mileage you’ll get out of them.

Vary the types of videos you use. Instead of having all your videos feature attorneys speaking directly to the camera, why not use former clients? Prospective clients love to hear from people who have gone through the same hardships they have—and come out on the other side smiling.

Make sure that you have a system in place for tracking your visitors. While your videos may not have attracted any new leads, that doesn’t mean that no one’s watching them. Given the low overhead, simply increasing the traffic to your website and building some brand recognition is likely enough to provide you a return on your investment. Obviously, attracting new clients is the end goal, but at least you’ll know if anything about your current campaign is working—and have a better idea of how to improve it.

Consider changing the location of your videos. Are they clearly marked on the homepage of your website? Are they buried at the bottom of a webpage? Most viewers don’t spend much time on the websites they visit, and you want to make sure that they see your videos — or at least that you have them.

By incorporating these tips, your firm can help make the most out of the videos you worked so hard to create. And if yours is one of the shrinking minority of firms that aren’t using online videos, then what are you waiting for?